[log] love, let the poison bleed out of me [closed]

[bywolves]

Characters: Alfie Solomons & Royce Melborn
Location: Downtown, Building 150
Date: Day 229-230
Summary: A couple of girls chase a couple of guys.
Warnings: Nothing out of the usual - violence, description of anomalies, language. Event stuff!

150: A small toy store that sells old-fashioned toys. Dusty, long-forgotten dolls, wooden blocks, and rubber balls line the shelves. There are a few board games, and even some stuffed animals, with polar bears and seals being favored alongside more traditional teddy bears. While the building seems normal enough, it has an eerie feel to it. Are the dolls moving around while you're not looking at them? There's a door near the back that leads to an employees only area, but it's completely empty except for one a chair that has a note glued heavily onto it. The note reads "dont trust the toys. i took a marionette apart and it put itself back together overnight plus every other toy moved up against this door. the chair kept the door closed fine but i still wouldnt trust them". At least there's also a public bathroom readily available.

Comments

[devoutish]

[Alfie hates this fucking building. He doesn't normally find toys and dolls creepy, but there's something weird about these, and that note only confirms his suspicions. He's tired and feeling ill in the morning, but that doesn't stop him from being up and about comparatively early, wanting to get a quick start.

That is, until he peeks out the door and sees a faceless Fiona standing a short distance from the house, along with another similarly faceless woman. Nope. He shuts the door quickly. Not going anywhere today.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce is dragging, this morning. He's tired, especially after the anomalies that have been cropping up, and he hasn't been sleeping well when he can. He's dragging on his boots when Alfie closes the door, and he looks up, concerned. ]

What?

[devoutish]

[He wearily lowers himself onto the couch and closes his eyes. He is so fucking done with his entire life right now.]

Outside - hallucinations, anomalies, I don't fucking know. Let's stay in, eh?

[bywolves]

[ Royce's expression shifts, and he pulls himself to his feet. ]

Can't be anomalies. It didn't try to grab you. [ He's going to go check, himself. ]

[devoutish]

They're just watching.

[He puts out a hand, holding it up in a stop gesture.]

Stay away, Royce; I don't trust it.

[bywolves]

[ No, he's curious. If they didn't attack Alfie, they're not real anomalies. Royce opens the door and looks out into the snow. Two women, both familiar, but - only one really gets his attention. Dark skin, long black hair - a hole, through her chest, gaping and dripping static, and eyes that are blank. He knows her immediately, knows the way she stands, the way her hair drapes over her shoulder.

Royce can't help himself - he takes two steps out the door, expression stricken. ]

[devoutish]

[He doesn't need to say the name for Alfie to know. The way he's acting is enough.]

Royce, no.

[He scrambles to his feet and follows, grabbing his arm to hold him back.]

It isn't her.

[bywolves]

[ He startles terribly when Alfie grabs him, looking over his shoulder and yanking his arm away reflexively. Royce can't even think about controlling his expression at the moment. It takes him a second to even remember he can speak. He's going to, it's just - he gets distracted. He looks back at her - at Gwen. At the woman he's never had the words good enough to describe, at the one woman he's loved more than anything.

She opens her mouth, and that blood-static drips out of the corner of her mouth, and Royce takes another step forward. She's going to fall, he thinks, it's just like when she died, she fell forward and he was there to catch her and he has to be, this time, he can't just let her fall -- ]

[devoutish]

[Next to her, Fiona lifts a hand and wiggles her fingers in a wave. Alfie studiously ignores her.]

Royce.

[He grabs his arm again.]

I'm not letting you go.

[He shouldn't run - not with his back and his barely-healed ribs. But if Royce tries to make a break for it, Alfie is absolutely prepared to give chase.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce chokes a little, faltering. ]

Solomons, it's - she's... [ Royce starts, and he loses his voice as Gwen shifts and moves unnaturally, body moving like a marionette, like someone forgot to attach a string to her head. It lolls back and to the side, but almost impossibly moves forward, joints all in the wrong places, the wide wound tearing further as she walks. Alfie most likely just sees her move forward normally, but Royce is horrified, and he actually takes a step back. ]

Don't - don't walk, Gwen. [ He says, brokenly, but she doesn't respond. She does stop, however. ]

[devoutish]

[She's coming closer, they're both coming closer, and that's alarming. What are they going to do?

Inside, now.

[His voice is clipped and strained.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce knows he should. He should go inside, this isn't real. But she's close to what she should be, and if he can just - if he can just touch her, maybe, if he can put his hand against her cheek and try to get her to look at him he can bring her back to normal. This can't be real, and yet he's moving anyway, completely ignoring Fiona, yanking away from Alfie roughly to go to her.

She lets out a sound as he moves, gurgling almost, like she's choking on her own blood, but he doesn't stop. He moves until his own nose bleeds - staggers slightly, but continues stubbornly, reaching out to touch her, to take her hand. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie tries, valiantly and stubbornly, to hold him back. He grits his teeth and latches onto Royce, but he's just not strong enough - instead of keeping him from moving forward, he's dragged along. Blood from his own nose drips onto Royce's cloak, but still he doesn't let go.]

Royce, snap out of it!

[He smacks Royce's shoulder, hard, because it's the only thing he can think of to do. He can't let the anomaly touch him - he'll go unconscious, and it'll drag him away, and then that will be that.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce hasn't slept, so he's not in the best of shape, but he knows how to push past it. He'll sleep when they're safe. When he can close his eyes and not see Gwen twitching and choking on her own blood. He'll be fine. He packs all his stuff up, and ushers Alfie out the door, and he's only a little sluggish.

He doesn't see her at first. He thinks she might be gone, only - she isn't. Gwen isn't even close to being gone, no - they're ten feet from the house, and she comes out of nowhere, rushing them both with cry that sounds more pained than angry.

Gwen - or the anomaly that looks like her - bypasses Alfie completely to slam into Royce, knocking him to the ground, but this time, he doesn't pass out entirely. His head spins as she pins him, his nose dripping blood, swimming in and out of consciousness. He doesn't hear what she says straight off, but Alfie will. The Gwen anomaly, normal but faceless to him, pins Royce to the ground and sobs. ]

Royce - Royce, please --

[devoutish]

[Alfie yells in surprise and alarm, and drops his things into the snow so he can push forward after them. He can't touch her, he figures, or he'll go unconscious too - so he snatches up a wooden board from the rubble on the ground and shoves it into the anomaly's side, trying to push it off of Royce. And all the while, he braces for the attack from the other anomaly that he assumes is coming.]

[bywolves]

[ She screams, and Royce flinches like he's been stabbed, reeling down into the snow. The anomaly falls off of Royce and scrambles to the side, jittery and dripping that static-y blood into the snow. She stays where she is, just a few feet away, trembling, arms wrapped around her torso like she can stop the bleeding, gurgling horribly.

In the distance, Fiona watches, quietly. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie keeps a wary eye on her - on both of them. But with them backed away for now, he focuses on Royce.]

Come on. Come. Quickly.

[bywolves]

[ Royce tries to pull himself up to stand, but he almost feels like he's going to pass out. She's so close. He stares down at the snow for a second, watching his nose drip blood onto the ice, and that's about when she speaks up again. ]

It's not fair. [ She whimpers. ] Why do you have one? I want it. Royce. Please.

[ Royce looks up at her slowly. She sounds just like Gwen. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie wraps an arm around his shoulders, hauling him up with a groan.]

Come.

[bywolves]

Royce, don't - please. [ Gwen sobs. Alfie pulls him up, and Royce stumbles, his legs not cooperating. Gwen crawls forward. His vision swims again. ]

I just want it for a while. You remember what that's like. [ She whispers. ] Don't let him take you away from me. Please. Just let me have it. Just for a moment.

[ Royce can't move, staring at her - his expression is broken, completely stricken. ]

[devoutish]

Royce, don't listen; cover your ears. It's not her. Yeah? You know damn well it's not.

[He pulls Royce's arm more securely over his shoulder, preparing himself to fully support him if he needs to. With his free arm, he tries to shoulder his bag. He can come back and get the rest later, if he needs to.]

[bywolves]

Just for a while. [ Gwen says, voice small and pained. Royce flinches again, his breathing ragged. The anomaly looks up at him, hair falling in her face, blood leaking from her mouth. ]

Why is it you that gets to have it? [ She asks, dragging herself forward. Royce makes a move like he's going to pull away from both of them. The anomaly jitters close, right up in their space, and Royce shoves Alfie away as best he's able as Gwen leans in, eyes white and unseeing, breath coming in as rattles.

Royce's voice breaks entirely when he speaks: ] Take it. You can have it. Gwen, I --

[devoutish]

No she can't!

[Alfie stumbles forward, making another wild grab for Royce.]

She fucking cannot.

[bywolves]

[ It's a good thing that Alfie grabs for Royce, because he manages to pull Royce away just in time. Gwen throws herself at Royce again, like she's taking him up on his offer, and Royce doesn't even bother trying to stop it from happening.

She misses, though, and hits the ground, crouching like some sort of wild animal, dripping static from all over, hair a tangled mess. She stares up at them, and Royce slumps back against Alfie, staring right back at her. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie waddles backwards, dragging Royce along with him, their things abandoned for now. He's taking him back into the building they'd come from - it's so close, he doesn't want to risk going for someplace else.]